Hemlock
Conium maculatum
family
Apiaceae
origin
Exotic
declaration
NIL
For information only
Common names
Bunk, California fern, Carrot fern, Fools parsley, Hemlock, Poison fool's parsley, Poison hemlock, Poison parsley, Poison root, Snake weed, Spotted hemlock, Spotted parsley, Wild carrot, Wild parsnip, Winter fern, Wode whistle.
An upright and short-lived herbaceous plant usually growing 1-2 m tall with stems covered in distinctive purplish blotches. Its stems are also hollow, hairless and have fine lengthwise grooves. Its stems and leaves give off a strong odour when crushed or damaged. Its leaves are large, deeply-divided, and ferny in appearance and their stalks tend to sheath the stems at their bases. Its small white flowers (2-4 mm across) are produced in large dense flat-topped clusters at the tips of the branches. Its small greyish-brown fruit separate into two prominently ribbed 'seeds' (2-4 mm long) when mature.
Impact
Impact
Hemlock (Conium maculatum) is regarded as an environmental weed in Victoria, the ACT, South Australia and Tasmania. It is primarily a weed of disturbed sites, often being found near stockyards, in waste areas and along roadsides. As an environmental weed it is mainly a problem in wetlands and along waterways (i.e. in riparian vegetation), although it has also invaded lowland grasslands and grassy woodlands and warm temperate rainforests in Victoria.
Location
Location
Characteristics
Characteristics
Similar Species
Similar Species
Hemlock (Conium maculatum) is regarded as an environmental weed in Victoria, the ACT, South Australia and Tasmania. It is primarily a weed of disturbed sites, often being found near stockyards, in waste areas and along roadsides. As an environmental weed it is mainly a problem in wetlands and along waterways (i.e. in riparian vegetation), although it has also invaded lowland grasslands and grassy woodlands and warm temperate rainforests in Victoria.
